Heart's Desire
by ihartteenjesus
Summary: Des isn't sure exactly when everything changed, but it did. Now life is throwing everything it's got at her and Santana may be her only saving grace. Sequel to Lost and Found. Must read Lost and Found to understand this story. Rated M to be safe.
1. Surprise, Surprise

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Glee or any songs performed in this story. This is purely a work of fiction.

**A/N:** Thank you everyone for your continued support. I hope you like what's in store. Just to be clear, this is a continuation of Lost And Found, just a change in POV. Also, stay tuned for a second A/N at the bottom!

* * *

Des opened the door and came face to face with one of the last people she expected to be at her door.

"Mama? What are you doing here?"

"Conference. Are you going to let me in?"

Des stepped to the side and allowed her mother to come into the room without a word. Her mother set down her suitcase by the door and looked around, her eyes squinted.

"It's shabbier than I remember," she said flatly.

"It's Bushwick," Des grumbled.

Her mother turned her glare to Des.

"Don't grumble. And for heaven's sake, Desdemona, stand up straight."

Des didn't argue.

"Can I get you something to eat or drink?" she asked.

"Water, but only if you have bottles."

Des grabbed a bottle from the fridge as her mother inspected her kitchen.

"Your common areas look barely used," her mother observed, taking the bottle of water Des offered.

"The one roommate doesn't spend much time here and I clean the kitchen when I use it," Des told her.

"And the living room?"

"Santana and I watched Pitch Perfect in there just last night," Des replied.

"Santana is the new one?"

Des nodded, becoming slightly uncomfortable.

"What does she do?"

Des bit her lip.

"She's a bartender," she admitted.

Her mother raised her eyebrows disdainfully.

"It's temporary. She's taking a gap year..."

Her defense fell on deaf ears. She refrained from actually sighing in frustration, though just barely.

"How long are you here?" she asked.

"Four days."

_Fantastic._

"Where are you staying?" Des asked.

"Here," her mother replied evenly.

Des was speechless.

"You...you didn't book a hotel?"

"I didn't think it would be necessary. It's only four days, surely as your mother I could burden you for that long."

"O...Of course, it's just...there's not a ton of room or anything. There are only three rooms..."

The look on her mother's face shrank what little resolve Des had and she sighed.

"Santana's out of town, I don't know how long. I could text her and see if it would be okay if I slept in her room until she gets back."

"Out of town?"

"Her grandmother is sick so she's gone home for a few days to see her."

Her mother gave a curt nod.

"I'll just get your things," Des said.

She grabbed her mother's suitcase and hauled it into her bedroom as her mother followed her.

"It's a small room, but it's right next to the bathroom."

She opened the door and stepped in.

"Oh, Desdemona, it's a mess in here!"

"I prefer organized chaos..."

* * *

While her mother was in the bathroom, Des called Santana.

"Hello?"

"Hey."

"Everything okay?" Santana asked.

"My mother showed up unexpectedly and she's taken over my bedroom. The couch is super uncomfortable so I was wondering if I could borrow your bed until you get back?" Des asked awkwardly.

"Of course. No problem."

"Thanks. Sorry about all this," Des told her.

"Don't worry about it. I'll be back sooner than expected. Probably Thursday. How long is your mom staying?"

"She'll be here til Friday," Des sighed.

"No worries. It's a big bed. We can share."

Des turned pink and her stomach fluttered with butterflies.

"She seemed pretty offended by my room so maybe she'll leave," Des joked.

Santana laughed.

"I can't wait to see you," she said.

Des smiled.

"Same. What do you want for your big homecoming dinner?"

"Surprise me. Everything you cook is magic," Santana told her.

"Thank you. I'll think on it. See you Thursday."

"Okay. Bye."

* * *

Des returned to the kitchen to find her mother going through the cabinets. She sighed.

"What are you doing?"

"Looking through your cabinets," her mother answered casually.

"I can see that. Why?"

"You have nothing in here," she replied, frowning.

"Not true."

"Close enough."

"You said you weren't hungry."

"A mother worries."

Des rolled her eyes.

* * *

They ended up eating pizza at Des' favorite place.

"This is good," her mother said as she swallowed.

"Yep," Des replied.

She hated to admit that their relationship had gotten this bad. There had always been a strain but this...this was just awkward.

"So, tell me, what is...San.."

"Santana."

"Right...Santana like?"

Des shrugged.

"She's...she's..."

She couldn't really say nice exactly. Santana could be abrasive and brutally honest. But most people just didn't know her like Des did.

"Well, spit it out."

"She's very honest."

"She's mean. What else?"

"She is _not_ mean," Des said.

Her mother gave her a scrutinizing look.

"She's brutally honest. You have to really try to get to know her before the good qualities come out," Des told her.

"Which are?"

"She's loyal, honest, and caring. She just has...different ways of showing it."

"Mmhmm."

Des took a sip of her drink.

"You like her."

It wasn't a question, yet Des felt compelled to answer.

"Oh please," she huffed.

"You do. Don't lie. Is she straight? Taken?"

"No, mom, do we have to..."

"I'm just curious. I don't know why you're so uncomfortable."

* * *

Her mom was out by ten. Des put her pajamas on and pulled her hair back, then she brushed her teeth and crawled into Santana's bed. It was soft as a cloud and she fell asleep almost instantly, exhausted from the tension with her mom.

Whatever dreams she may have had she forgot the instant she woke. At first she was a little confused and disoriented, forgetting whose bed she was in. When that came back to her, so did the memory of her mother's surprise arrival. Des groaned and rolled out of the bed made of clouds.

Her mother was in the kitchen, drinking a cup of coffee and reading a sheet of paper.

"Good morning," her mom said cheerfully.

"Mornin'," Des grumbled back.

Really she was useless without her coffee. She poured herself a cup the way she liked it and drank half of it before gaining the ability to speak coherently.

"What's that?" she asked, nodding to the paper.

"Itinerary for the conference. It doesn't start until noon today but there are two workshops beforehand."

Des glanced at the clock. It was already ten.

"Not going?" she observed.

"They're the same ones as last year. I've already seen them."

Great, Des was stuck with her mom until almost noon.

"I had hoped to go do a bit of sight seeing but _someone_ was a lazy bones this morning."

"I didn't sleep well last night," Des lied.

"No?"

"Different bed. It felt weird."

_Weird as in most comfortable bed on earth_, she thought.

"Well, perhaps another time."

"Sure."

Her mother drained her coffee mug and rinsed it out.

"Well, I'm off. I'd like to get there early as I'll be co-presenting with a fellow professor."

This was news to Des.

"You're presenting?"

"Mmhmm."

"Why didn't you say anything?"

Her mom shrugged.

"I didn't think it would interest you."

It wouldn't have but still...

"Oh."

"I'll be back by six."

With that, her mother left Des alone in the apartment.

* * *

**Thank you so much for reading and for your patience. The next chapter will most likely be out sometime next week but I'll see if I can get it out before then.**

**A/N2:**_ So I have discovered SYOC stories (submit your own/original character). I love the idea of them. This note has 2 parts._

**Part 1** - _I submitted a character to an SYOC and was accepted. (Actually I have submitted and was accepted to 2 but I digress.) The first one is by whenyou'rereadycomeangetit and it's called New New Directions. She really needs more people to submit characters ESPECIALLY **boys.**_

**Part 2 -** _Do y'all remember how I said I had an idea for a Lima-centric story? Well, I'm considering making it an SYOC because I would love to get you guys involved. I'd love to see how many of you are interested, because it'll take a lot of OCs. I'm planning on making it futuristic (meaning the kids of the ND). So send me a PM or a review with your opinion on that and if I get enough responses, I'll start making an application._

**If you read all this, bless you. Bless your cow. Bless your beautiful soul.**


	2. Roommate Reunion

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Glee or any songs performed in this story. This is purely a work of fiction.

* * *

For days Des had been forced to act as a tour guide to her mother. It was driving her insane and it made her feel like a tourist.

"What's this? What's that? Where is [fill in the blank]? What's the best place for [fill in the blank]?" was all she'd heard all week. That, and little remarks about her apartment, love life, regular life, and everything in between.

That's why on Thursday, when she got the text from Santana saying she was home, Des was so relieved.

"What are you grinning about, Desdemona?"

"Nothing," Des lied.

Had she been grinning?

"Oh, come on, you can tell me," her mom cooed.

"Nothin' to tell. Just Santana's back from Ohio."

Des shrugged as if it weren't a big deal. Then she remembered what Santana had said. 'It's a big bed. We can share.' She blushed and kicked herself mentally.

Her mother shot her a knowing look, but didn't actually say anything for once.

* * *

When they got back to the apartment Santana was passed out on the couch. The light of the setting sun peeked in through the window and made Santana look almost angelic in her sleep. Des motioned for her mom to be quiet as they came in.

They quietly snuck back to Des' room so her mom could put away the things she'd bought while they were out.

"_That's_ Santana?" her mother asked.

"Why do you sound so surprised?"

"I just...didn't picture that..her, I mean."

"What _did_ you picture?"

"I don't know. I really don't know. I just didn't think she would look so..."

"So?"

"So mature."

"Mature?"

"Yes, mature. She's very...developed."

"Oh my God! Are you talking about my roommate's boobs!?"

Her mother's face went pink and she gave Des an sharp look.

"What? I'm not the one talking about boobs," Des told her.

"Don't be so crass, Desdemona. I simply meant..."

"That she has big boobs and looks like a supermodel."

Her mom rolled her eyes and continued stuffing her things away haughtily.

* * *

Des made cornflake chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, and gravy for dinner. Santana woke up when Des tried and failed to quietly pull out a pot to make the potatoes in.

"Sorry," Des said as Santana sat up and stretched.

Her t-shirt hung loose and her yoga pants accentuated her curves. Des had to turn her focus on closing the cabinet door for fear of staring.

"It's okay. When did you come in?" Santana asked, abandoning her spot on the couch and meandering into the kitchen.

Des busied herself with washing the potatoes.

"A little bit ago. After you texted."

"Cool. I didn't hear you come in."

"I saw you sleeping and we came in as quietly as possible. I figured you'd be really tired."

Santana smiled.

"I was."

"But things went well?" Des asked, changing the subject as she began chopping the potatoes into chunks.

"It went way better than expected. She forgave me and apologized and told me she loved me."

Des smiled.

"I knew she'd come around. You're way too amazing for anyone to not want you in their life."

Santana grinned.

Des chopped silently for a while as Santana watched. She managed to keep her eyes on her work or at least look Santana in the eyes rather than checking her out like she wanted to.

"So where's your mom?" Santana asked as Des finished chopping the last potato.

"My room. She had some papers to look over for her last conference tomorrow."

Santana nodded slowly.

"I really meant what I said. We can share my bed. I know the couch is uncomfortable."

"I don't want to burden you..."

Santana took her hand the way Des always too Santana's.

"Hey, it's not a problem."

Des smiled and felt herself go pink as she stared into Santana's mesmerizing brown eyes.

"If you're sure," she said, feeling things she hadn't felt in a good while.

"I'm sure," Santana replied with the same hungry look in her eyes she'd had the day her mom had called from Ohio.

Des bit her lip and turned back to the food. She wasn't sure how long she could keep this up. There was only so much she could control and the urge to kiss Santana was getting stronger all the time.

* * *

She remembered the first time she'd ever laid eyes on Santana. She had never seen someone so absolutely flawless in her entire life. She had quickly shaken all thoughts of ever having a chance with her out of her mind, assuming that Santana was straight. When she found out that she wasn't, it was worse. Des knew Santana was out of her league and that was difficult to handle.

As they slowly became closer and got to know each other better, Des couldn't help but start to fall for Santana..._hard_. Sure Santana was abrasive, occasionally rude, and had walls up a mile high, but she was also caring, vulnerable, and beautiful on more than just a physical level.

Des couldn't be sure when things seemed to really change for Santana, but she had been prepared to accept nothing more than friendship since the beginning. All of a sudden there was an opportunity to take the plunge and try for more but she wasn't sure she should take it.

It wasn't that she'd changed her mind. It was just that...well, there were plenty of reasons.

1. Santana was only nineteen. Not that Des was old, but she was more experienced.

2. Santana was just beginning to truly come out of her post-breakup depression with Brittany. She was just starting to move on.

3. Santana was still out of her league.

4. They were friends and Des knew that it would be weird if they broke up. She wanted Santana in her life, even if it wasn't romantically.

* * *

Des shook herself from her thoughts as dinner was almost done. Her mother came into the kitchen and inhaled.

"Smells good," she said.

Santana emerged from the bathroom, where she had just taken a shower.

"Mmm," she breathed, inhaling the aroma in the kitchen.

Des' mom turned around.

"You must be Santana," she said, holding out her hand.

Santana shook it and nodded.

"Lisa Collins, Desdemona's mother."

Santana smiled.

"It's nice to meet you," she said pleasantly.

Des felt her stomach begin to churn.

_This could be bad_, she thought.

* * *

**Thank you for reading! The next chapter will be out ASAP and we'll see what happens when she and Santana share a bed for the first time. Just a reminder, I would love to get some feedback on my Lima-centric story idea. If you don't know what it is, simply go back to last week's chapter and go all the way down to the bottom, then send me a message and let me know your thoughts. Until next time...**


	3. All In

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Glee or any songs performed in this story. This is purely a work of fiction.

* * *

Des' mom went to bed early; she had an early flight the next day. Santana was already in her room and putting on her pajamas as Des pulled her hair back and brushed her teeth.

She walked through the door as Santana was slipping a short, silky red negligee over her head. Des looked away quickly, but the damage was done. Had Santana done that on purpose?

"Which side of the bed do you want?" Santana asked, a slight smirk etched on her lips.

"I..I don't have a preference," Des managed.

Her heart was racing a million miles an hour and she gulped to keep from drooling.

"I tend to end up in the middle, so I might get really close in my sleep," Santana told her, pulling back the covers.

Des nodded, unsure of what to say.

She climbed in on the left side awkwardly. Santana crept in behind her.

_Oh God_, Des thought. _Just keep cool. _

"Can I talk to you?" Santana asked.

"Sure," Des replied nervously.

"Are you uncomfortable?"

"This bed is very comfortable..."

"I don't mean because of the bed. I mean because of me."

Des frowned. She wasn't sure how to respond, so she decided to go with the truth.

"A little," she admitted.

Santana looked at her sadly.

"I just...I guess I don't understand what this is," Des told her.

"What do you mean?"

"You told me the other day that things were different. I have to admit...I thought I saw something different when you looked at me. I just put it down as wishful thinkin' but now we're together...in your bed...and you're wearin' lingerie and I guess I'm just tryin' to figure out what's goin' on."

Santana seemed to take a second to absorb what Des had told her.

"I can't keep pining for Britt and I don't want any more rebounds. I thought I did, I thought I could wait for Britt to come back to me, but I've found something better. The biggest part of my love for Brittany was that she understood me. She made me feel like I wasn't a bad person. She was the only one who did. So when she left, yeah, I took it hard."

"I thought _you_ left _her_," Des interjected.

"I broke up with her, but she went off MIT and forgot me."

Des nodded.

"My point is, you make me feel like I'm not a bad person. But you also make me feel like I'm worth something. You value me as a person for my brain and my abilities rather than what I look like. No one's ever done that before."

Des bit her lip.

"So where does that negligee come in?" she squeaked.

Santana smiled seductively.

"I was trying to seduce you. I guess I don't really know how to get what I want without using sex appeal."

Des swallowed and forced herself not to stare at Santana's chest.

"And what is it that you want?" she asked tentatively, feeling her palms sweating.

"You. I want you."

_Sweet merciful Jesus!_

Santana started to lean in.

_What do I do!? What do I do!?_

_Do I let it happen?_

_Yes, definitely let it happen!_

She closed her eyes.

_No! She's your friend!_

Santana was so close that Des could feel her breath on her lips.

_Fuck it! Just do it!_

Their lips met in an explosion of heat. Des opened her mouth as Santana ran her tongue lightly across Des' lower lip. It was better than any kiss Des had ever experienced and she never wanted it to end. She ran her hand through Santana's silky smooth hair and let Santana get into a better position on top of her.

_WAIT! WAIT! THIS COULD MESS IT ALL UP!_

She needed time to think but it was clear Santana wasn't going to give it to her. Des tried to think of what to do as Santana's hand ran gently up her shirt. Then a thought hit her and she pulled away.

"What's wrong?" Santana asked breathlessly. "Don't you want me?"

"I do want you. I want you very much," Des replied.

Truthfully, she wanted Santana so much it physically hurt.

"So what's wrong?"

"My mom..."

Santana frowned.

"I didn't think of that."

Des was relieved as Santana flopped back down beside her.

"I think we should slow down anyway," Des admitted.

She couldn't read Santana's face and it made her nervous. She imagined Santana putting walls up.

"I want us to have time to get to know each other in a romantic way. I want to give you time to think about what you want out of a relationship and where you want this to go. I don't want you to rush into this and then regret it later."

"You want to give me a way out," Santana replied flatly.

"I want to be with you, Santana. I've wanted that for a while. I'm just nervous because we're friends."

"So? Friends date each other all the time," Santana said.

Des bit her lip again and Santana took her hand. She kissed it lightly and looked Des intensely in the eye.

"I'm a woman who knows what she wants and I'm not afraid to go after it. I want you, Des."

It seemed her fate was sealed.

"I'm all in," Des replied.

* * *

The next morning Des rolled out of bed at 5:30 to much protesting by Santana.

"I'll be back later. I'm just goin' to the airport for no more than an hour," Des whispered.

Santana grumbled and turned over. Des dressed in the dark and walked into the kitchen.

"You're up early," her mom observed.

"I thought I'd go with you to the airport for a little bit. Ya know, say bye."

"How nice of you. I know how you detest early mornings."

Des forced a smile to her lips.

"Yeah."

They left after a cup of coffee and hailed a cab to the airport.

Neither of them spoke until they reached the airport. Des helped her mom get her suitcase from the trunk and rolled it in for her.

"So, is Dad picking you up from the airport at home?" Des asked.

"No, Cordelia is," her mother replied.

"Cordelia's home?" Des asked.

Her mother nodded and looked at her watch.

"She said she has a surprise for the family."

"And no one thought to tell me? Shouldn't I be involved?"

"Oh, don't be so touchy, Desdemona. She knows how awkward you can feel in these situations. She was planning to tell you separately."

Des frowned but didn't push the subject any further. She was too tired and had too much on her mind to worry about what her sister was going to tell the rest of the family.

Des didn't stay long. She hugged her mother and hailed a cab home. When she got there she took off her jeans and crawled into her own bed.

"Thank God for summer vacation," she grumbled to herself as she closed her eyes.

* * *

She woke up again at 10 and went into the kitchen for some cereal. Juliana was leaving as she poured her milk.

"Hey, you never came back to bed," Santana said.

"Well, I figured my mom was gone, might as well go back to my own bed."

Santana nodded but her face was unreadable.

Des bit her lip, unsure of what to do or say. Eventually she decided to deal with it later and ate her breakfast. It was clear she and Santana had a lot to talk about.

* * *

**Thank you for reading! Sorry for the wait, I got impatient and started working on the SYOC story and things have been crazy. I hope this was a good chapter!**


	4. Cordially Invited

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Glee or any songs performed in this story. This is purely a work of fiction.

* * *

"_If you save yourself for marriage you're a bore_  
_If you don't save yourself for marriage you're a horr...ible person_  
_If you won't have a drink then you're a prude_  
_But they'll call you a drunk as soon as you down the first one_  
_If you can't lose the weight then you're just fat_  
_But if you lose too much then you're on crack_  
_You're damned if you do and you're damned if you don't_  
_So you might as well just do whatever you want.._"

Hot water rushed over Des' body as she ran her hands through her hair.

"_Make lots of noise_  
_Kiss lots of boys_  
_Or kiss lots of girls_  
_If that's somethin' you're into_  
_When the straight and narrow gets a little too straight_  
_Roll up a joint_  
_Or don't_  
_Just follow your arrow wherever it points, yeah_  
_Follow your arrow wherever it points..._"

Santana on the phone with her mom leaving Des time to shower, and time to think of what to say when she talked to her about their relationship. She scrubbed her hair and rinsed the shampoo out. As she ran some conditioner through her hair she closed her eyes, completely relaxed.

"_If you don't go to church you'll go to hell_  
_If you're the first one on the front row you're a self-righteous son of a -_  
_Can't win for losin'_  
_You'll just disappoint 'em_  
_Just 'cause you can't beat 'em don't mean you should join 'em_

_So make lots of noise_  
_Kiss lots of boys_  
_Or kiss lots of girls_  
_If that's somethin' you're into_  
_When the straight and narrow gets a little too straight_  
_Roll up a joint_  
_Or don't_  
_Just follow your arrow wherever it points, yeah_  
_Follow your arrow wherever it points..._"

She shaved her legs and lathered up her loofah.

"_Say what you think_  
_Love who you love_  
_'Cause you just get so many_  
_Trips round the sun_  
_Yeah you only..._  
_Only live once_

_So make lots of noise_  
_Kiss lots of boys_  
_Or kiss lots of girls_  
_If that's what you're into_  
_When the straight and narrow gets a little too straight_  
_Roll up a joint_  
_I would_  
_And follow your arrow wherever it points, yeah_  
_Follow your arrow wherever it points..._"

She stepped out of the shower and dried off. She sat in her towel for a while, leaning her head against the wall and trying to think of how to start a conversation. By the time she came back to reality she was completely dry. She dressed quickly and went out to the kitchen.

Santana was sitting at the bar with a bottle of water and a piece of paper.

"What's that?" Des asked.

"Application," Santana replied.

"Oh, looking for a new job?"

Santana shook her head.

"College."

"Really? That's amazing! So you figured out what you want to do?"

She looked at Des and smiled.

"I want to dance."

"Well, you're heaps better at it than me," Des joked.

"So is this an application to NYADA?"

"This one is. I have another one to Julliard."

"Oh my God, that's so cool!"

"You're really excited for me?"

"Of course I am! Who wouldn't be?"

"It's just that school is gonna take away time from us and..."

Des shook her head.

"Santana, we live together. And besides, we're grown women. I trust you and I don't think that we need to rush anything. School is important and I know how much you love dancing. What kind of girlfriend would I be if I didn't support you?"

Santana beamed and tacked Des in a hug.

"You're so amazing," she told Des, kissing her lightly on the lips.

"I think you're amazing, and you're gonna kill it wherever you go."

"And you're right. We don't need to rush. I'm sorry if I came off as desperate or something. I'm just really excited to be with you."

Des grinned.

"I'm excited to be with you too."

* * *

Des listened as Santana went through both schools with her and was supportive and understanding.

"I mean, Julliard is _the_ school to go to for dance."

"Yeah, but I feel like it's mostly ballerinas and I don't even know if I'm good enough to get in."

"You never know unless you try. And NYADA is amazing too."

"Yeah for musical theater."

"Don't stress over it. Everything's gonna fall into place however it's meant to."

Santana nodded nervously.

"Seriously, Santana. You're a star."

Des squeezed her hand.

* * *

Santana sent in the applications a few days later and couldn't stop thinking about them.

"Hey, we should do something fun. Take your mind off your applications."

"What did you have in mind?"

"We could have a nice dinner with Kurt and Rachel and then..."

There was a knock on the door. Des looked at Santana, but she looked just as confused as Des was.

_**Knock, knock, knock.**_

Des stood and went to the door, wishing they had a peephole. She opened it as Santana slowly moved in behind her.

"Jules?" Des muttered, hardly able to believe her eyes.

"Hi."

"What are you doing here?"

"I was in the neighborhood. Aren't you going to invite me in?"

Des moved out of the way and let her ex saunter in.

"Hi, I'm Jules," she said to Santana, holding out her hand.

Santana shook it grudgingly.

"Well, Des, introduce us," Jules urged.

"J-Jules, this is Santana..."

"Des' girlfriend," Santana finished icily.

"Nice," Jules remarked.

"What are you doing here?" Des asked again.

"I confess, I wasn't just in the neighborhood. I came to see you."

"Why?" Des asked.

Santana folded her arms over her chest looking less than thrilled.

"I wanted to extend an invitation to you and a...plus one," she said eying Santana, "for my wedding."

"Whoa. Wait. Hold on. I haven't seen you in months and all of a sudden you show up here inviting me to your _wedding_? I _just_ started dating again and you're already getting _married_?"

"Some of us mature faster than others. I understand if you don't want to come. I just wanted to show you that I have no hard feelings and see if you and I could be friends."

Des went pink.

"Here," Jules said, handing her an ornate envelope, "Give me a call when you've decided."

Jules turned and walked towards the door.

"Why didn't you just mail the invitation?" Santana asked her.

Jules faced her.

"Because I know Des better than most people. She would have burned it, shredded it, or destroyed it somehow. I wanted to make absolutely sure she understood that I wasn't doing this to hurt her."

She left no time for a response before letting herself out.

Santana shook her head and looked at Des.

"Honestly, who does she think she is?"

She rolled her eyes.

"We gonna go or what?"

Des bit her lip and shrugged.

"Well, open the invitation and at least see when it is. Maybe there will be a good excuse not to go."

Des opened the envelope and slipped the invitation out.

It was black and white, classy really. It screamed Jules. Des read it out loud.

"You are cordially invited to the wedding of Julia Leigh Holden and Viveca Michelle Dalton. Wednesday, January 1, 2014. Ceremony will begin at eight o'clock in the evening. Reception to follow."

Santana grabbed the RSVP card.

"Really? Does she think no one has anything better to do on New Year's than go to her stupid wedding?"

Des shrugged.

"Do you want to go?"

"I don't know."

"It's not a big deal."

"Except it kinda is."

Santana gave her a look.

"She's psyching you out. I mean, didn't you say she dumped you like two months before you met me? That would mean she's been with this chick for less than nine months and they're already getting married. That's kind of ridiculous."

"True. I don't know. I'll think about it. There's still plenty of time to RSVP."

* * *

Des put the invitation away and put it out of her mind. She spend the rest of the week planning a dinner and a Callbacks outing.

"You can't put it off forever," Santana told her as Des was going over the shopping list.

"Can't put what off forever?" Des asked.

"The wedding invitation."

"Oh. I don't even care, honestly. If you want to go, we'll go."

"I just think that you should go."

"Why?"

"Because, she needs to see that you've moved on to bigger and, let's face it, much better things."

Des smiled and kissed Santana across the bar.

"And how exactly is showing up with some major eye candy on my arm gonna make it seem like I've moved on?"

"Did you really need to ask that?"

Des laughed.

"Okay, fine. But I don't see why I have to go to prove I'm over her," she admitted.

"Not going makes it seem like it hurts."

Des sighed.

"Fine. I'll fill out the stupid form tomorrow."

Santana smiled.

"Good."

"Happy?"

Santana nodded.

"Can we go get the stuff for dinner now?"

"Let's go."

Des grabbed her purse and opened the front door for Santana. The walked down to the train hand in hand.

* * *

**Please don't murder me! I know it wasn't super long, but the next chapter should be longer. :)**

**Song:**  
"Follow Your Arrow" - Kacey Musgraves


	5. An Unexpected Request

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Glee or any songs performed in this story. This is purely a work of fiction.

**A/N:** I honestly have no idea why this took so long. I'm so so so so so so so sorry!

* * *

Dinner was salad, homemade veggie burgers, and a double chocolate no-bake vegan torte.

"Oh my God, Des! This torte is amazing!" Rachel gushed.

"Thank you. I found the recipe online and thought I'd give it a try."

Des had to admit, the torte _was_ pretty awesome.

"Who's excited for Call Backs!?" Rachel squealed.

"It's not like you've never been before, Berry," Santana replied, rolling her eyes.

"I know but we rarely get to hang out anymore and I miss you. This is going to be so fun!"

* * *

Rachel led the way into the crowded karaoke club.

"There's a table," Des told them, pointing to a small table off the side.

They made their way over as a guy walked up on stage and sat down at the piano.

"Hi, I'm Jesse St. James and I'll be performing 'Hello' by Lionel Richie."

Rachel spun around with the most shocked look Des had ever seen on her face.

"What?" she whispered as they took their seats.

"No freakin' way," Santana hissed.

"What's going on?" Des asked.

"It's Rachel's ex-boyfriend," Kurt told her.

"I thought Finn..."

"Yes, him too. But Jesse..."

"Oh my God. What is he even doing here?"

Rachel covered her face.

"It can't be that bad, can it?"

"It's just weird. He knew I was going to NYADA."

Kurt was giving her this weird look.

"I have to talk to him. I mean, he's obviously here to see me."

"Rachel, get over yourself. Maybe he's got a real reason for coming here."

Rachel looked both hurt and determined.

"Let it go, Rachel!"

"Wait, so do you still like him?" Des asked, confused.

"No, of course not..."

"Really?"

"Yes, really. I just...I saw him at Nationals last year and I found out he spoke to Carmen Tibideaux about me. He was at Nationals the year before that, too, because he was trying to get me back."

"Oh."

For someone who claimed to have been a social pariah in high school, Des thought Rachel had way more of a social life than she let on.

"What do I do?" Rachel asked.

"Ignore him. He's selfish, conceited, pompous douche bag. Forget him," Santana told her.

"He's not all that bad," Rachel insisted.

"I'm telling you, if you start talking to him again you're just going to end up getting back together with him and then feeling bad about it. He's not the one for you. Let him go."

Kurt nodded fervently.

"I agree with Santana. He's bad news."

"He threw eggs at your head, Rachel."

"He said he was sorry for that."

Santana rolled her eyes and sighed angrily.

"You're right," Rachel sighed.

She frowned.

"He's singing the song we sang together the day we met."

"God, Berry!"

Rachel grinned.

"Okay, okay. Sorry."

After he finished his song he took a bow and made his way off stage. Santana pulled Rachel's focus to her so she wouldn't stare. He was half way to their table when he suddenly stopped, took out his phone, looked at a message, and promptly turned around and left the building.

"He's gone," Des told them.

"Gone? What do you mean gone?"

Rachel looked around but he wasn't there.

"Where did he go?"

Des shrugged.

"Checked his phone and walked out. He was coming this way before that though."

Rachel frowned.

"Don't worry about it. I'm glad he left. I, for one, do not need him crashing our girl party."

Rachel smiled a bit at that.

"That's almost sweet, Santana."

"Whatever, dwarf."

Des grinned, knowing how hard it was for Santana to be openly kind or loving.

"Um, speaking of girl parties..."

Des bit her lip.

"When my mom was here she told me that my sister had some big news and she told the rest of the family, but she texted me earlier today and said she needed to meet with me."

"That sounds so...formal."

"Well, that's Cordelia."

"Wow, Desdemona and Cordelia. Your parents must not like you guys very much," Santana said, lightening the mood.

Des laughed.

"Pretty sure I got it worse, but our brother's name is Orlando."

"Oh my God...like, what even?"

"Shakespeare."

* * *

Des had made plans to meet with her sister at about four the next day. She waited alone at a little table at the coffee shop she and Santana frequented with a caramel iced coffee between her hands. Cordelia walked in, spotted her, waved, and ordered a coffee. After her order was handed to her, she made her way over to where Des sat.

"Hi," Des said as Cordelia sat down.

"Hello. How have you been?"

"Fine. How are things with you?"

"Fantastic."

The grin on Cordelia's face said it all. This meeting was pointless.

"So...when did he propose? How? Give me all the details."

Cordelia actually squealed before going into all the specifics.

"Oh my gosh, it was soooo romantic! He took me out on his father's yacht. It was only us and his brother..."

"His brother? Why..."

"So that when James proposed, Thomas could drive the boat."

"Oh."

"So anyway, James is driving the boat out and Thomas is giving us our space, playing video games below deck. So he's telling me all of this boat stuff and I'm just so impressed by how knowledgeable he is when it starts getting late. So he gets on the intercom and asks Thomas to come up and drive for a while."

Des leaned in, getting caught up in the story.

"Thomas takes over and James and I go up to this, like, extra deck thing...kind of like a balcony, I guess. Anyway, he's set up a picnic complete with flameless candles and rose petals. At this point I think I know what's going on, but I try not to get too excited. So we sit down and he pours us some wine...good wine. An old vintage his father gave him for graduation. We talk and laugh and have an amazing time."

Des smiled, waiting for the proposal.

"Then he pulls out our dessert. He's got these two huge cupcakes. One had a tiny top hat situated on top of the frosting and the other had an engagement ring!"

"Awww, he put it on a cupcake? That's cute!"

"Right!? So cute! Then he hands me the one with the ring on it and he takes my other hand. By now I'm barely breathing and I'm trying to keep a handle on my emotions but, ohmygod he's proposing! So he looks me in the eye as the sun is setting and he says...'Cordelia, you are the most breathtaking woman I have ever known. You're my best friend, my soul mate, and...if you'll have me...I'd like to add wife to that list.' So I lose it. I'm sobbing and trying to get out a coherent 'yes' but I can't so I just nod."

Des nodded excitedly.

"That's so romantic!"

"I know! I'm so lucky! James is...he's the best thing that ever happened to me. Besides getting into Yale."

Des smiled. She was genuinely happy for her sister.

"And I came here, not only to tell you I'm getting married, but to ask...will you be my maid of honor?"

This surprised Des for some reason.

"Me? You want me to..."

"Be my maid of honor, yes."

"But...why?"

"You're my sister. Tradtionally, the sister..."

"I mean, I'm flattered but..."

"Don't do this to me, please."

"I mean it's a big deal. You're sure?"

Cordelia nodded.

"Of course! I know we don't always see eye to eye but you're my _sister_ and I love you."

Des wiped a tear from her eye and nodded.

"Really?"

Des beamed.

"When's the weddin'?"

Cordelia seized Des in a bear hug and Des hugged back.

"We're opting for a shorter engagement."

"Are you pregnant?"

"Of course not! The wedding is October 26 at 5:00 in the evening. I've got to run, I have to meet with the wedding planner in Manhattan..."

"Y'all are gettin' married here?"

"Yes. I'll call you later with more details, okay?"

"Sure. I'll talk to you later."

"Okay. Love you, bye."

"Love you, too."

They hugged quickly before Des watched her sister leave. She was still in shock when she got back to her apartment.

* * *

"So, what happened?" Santana pried.

"My sister is getting married."

"You seem...weird about it?"

"No, I'm glad for her. And James is a sweet guy once you get past his ego."

"Well, something's off."

"She asked me to be her maid of honor..."

"And you weren't expecting that? I thought she was your only sister."

"I wasn't and she is. I guess I should have expected it, but given that we're not as close as we should be I just thought she'd ask her best friend..."

"When's the wedding?"

"October 26."

"This year?"

Des nodded.

"Is she pregnant?"

Des smiled.

"That's what I asked."

"Great minds think alike. So is she?"

"No, she isn't. Anyway, she said she'd call me later with more details. She's gone to meet with her wedding planner in Manhattan."

"So they're getting married here?"

Des nodded.

* * *

They talked for a while. Des decided to make cookies while she waited for her sister to call.

"October, huh? That's only four months away..."

"I know. I mean, how do you even plan an entire wedding in four months. And I _know_ my sister. It's gonna be extravagant."

"Do you get a plus one?"

"I assume so..."

Des looked up and eyed Santana.

"Why? You wanna go?"

"Are you asking me for real?"

Des rolled her eyes playfully and sighed.

"Santana Lopez, would you give me the honor of being my plus one to my sister's wedding?"

Santana feigned surprise.

"Why, Des! This is all so sudden! I don't know what to say...YES! Yes, I'll go with you!"

Des tossed a chocolate chip at Santana's head. It hit, bounced off, and landed on the counter making them both laugh. Minus the dramatics, she was glad Santana wanted to go to the wedding. She was going to have to meet the rest of Des' family eventually anyway.

* * *

**Thank you for reading! Sorry it took so long to get out. I'll try to get the next chapter out by next Friday!**


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